Please call the Parish Office to arrange an appointment at clergy surgery which is held on a Wednesday evening from 6.10pm.
Tel 01926 403940

Click here for directions to the Parish Office

From 2008 new regulations came into force regarding who can legally qualify to get married at St Mary's Church. Couples need to establish a "qualifying connection" by virtue of one or more of the following:

a) by being baptised in St Mary's and having an entry in the baptism register;
b) by being confirmed in the Church of England and having an entry in St Mary's confirmation register;
c) by having a parent or grandparent who was married at St Mary's;
d) by having your usual place of residence in the Parish for at least six months;
e) by having a parent whose usual place of residence has been in the Parish for at least six months at any time after you were born;
f) by habitually attending public worship at St Mary's for at least six months;
g) by one parent habitually attending public worship at St Mary's for at least six months at any time after you were born.

The clergy will be willing to talk through these options in more detail with couples. In addition, if either party has had a previous marriage dissolved then this must be discussed with the clergy in accordance with the Church of England guidelines.

About a month before the wedding your banns will be read in Church. This is a legal requirement and a public announcement of your intention to marry. You should be present to hear your banns read, and it is often a good time to involve parents. If either of you live outside the area covered by the Warwick Team of churches you must arrange for banns to be read at the parish where you live, and obtain a certificate which you should bring with you to the wedding rehearsal. Please note that we cannot legally marry you without this certificate.

Choosing wedding music can be a daunting prospect. In order to help you decide, St Mary's produces a list of hymns and choral and organ music. This list of Wedding Music Repertoire includes a wide range of recommendations of both the traditional and the contemporary music (including the standard "classics") that from our experience works well in St Mary's. St Mary's can provide a treble voice choir made up of either girls' or boys' voices (subject to availability) or a full choir of men and boys, or men and girls, (subject to availabity) to help lead the singing of the hymns and provide music during the signing of the register. Where the choir is singing a conductor is required and will be provided. Please bring 20 copies of the order of service to the wedding rehearsal so that the choir can rehearse the hymns before the day itself. St Mary's will provide an organist from its team of professional musicians. If you need to explore your music choices still further, the Director of Music, Oliver Hancock, will be happy to discuss these with you;
he can be contacted on 01926 403940 or emailed on dofm@stmaryswarwick.org.uk

These are helpful to the congregation because a couple's choice may often be from a number of different hymnbooks. If you intend to have these printed, do allow plenty of time. Three weeks before your wedding is a good rule of thumb if you are using a professional printer.

Please make sure your photographer knows photos are permitted only during the signing of registers, the arrival of the bride and groom, when you leave in procession, and outside the Church. Professional videos may be made only by prior arrangement with the Vicar of St Mary's. If music and musicians are involved in your wedding, a licence must be applied for from the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society for the professionally made video, and additional fees are payable to the musicians. The focus of the service is the bride and groom so it is important that the person making the video recording remains in the designated place and does not distract from the couple getting married. Please note that guests are not permitted to take photos or videos during the service.

St Mary's has an excellent flower team who give their services free.............so more of your money can go on flowers. They will provide two pedestal arrangements to a professional standard (plus decorations for the end of of each row of chairs if requested). Please contact Brenda Watts on brendawatts5@googlemail.com. We would be very grateful if flowers could be left for Sunday services.

You are welcome to use confetti outside the Church, as long as it is biodegradeable.

Please contact Glynis Nixon in the Parish Office ( 01926 403940) who will be happy to arrange for a team of bellringers, subject to availability.

These are the 2024 charges for of all the possible elements for weddings and blessings. Please feel free to discuss your particular requirements with the clergy. Please note that there are additional church and musical costs if your service is videoed or live-streamed (subject to staff availability).

The Parish Office will send you an invoice, and payment must be made three weeks before the service takes place. Payment may be made by cash or cheque to the Parish Office.

To discuss a Christening, Thanksgiving or Baptism at St Mary's contact the Parish Office. Email baptisms@stmaryswarwick.org.uk for details.

Click here for directions to the Parish Office

For those who are newly born there is a Service of Thanksgiving, and a Service of Baptism. However, in this day and age people's spiritual journeys are much more varied, so, for adults, the provision has been included to include services of Baptism, Confirmation, Affirmation of Baptismal Faith, and Reception into the Church of England. There are different implications behind each of these choices, and it is important to chose the service that is right for you.

Baptism marks the first steps in a person's journey of faith. This journey is a process of discovery which takes place within a community. The Church, parents and godparents are partners within the common adventure of faith, and this sense of collaboration underlies the solemn vows that are made on behalf of a child in infant baptism. In the service the godparents, parents and Church promise to keep the child in their prayers and to help him or her in their journey of faith. Their vows include the following questions and answers, and it is important that godparents have made these vows for themselves before making them on behalf of someone else.

Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?
I reject them

Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?
I renounce them

Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?
I repent of them

Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?
I turn to Christ

Do you submit to Christ as Lord?
I submit to Christ

Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?
I come to Christ

Baptism has always been a sign of membership of the Church, which is why it is important that this service relates to the ongoing life of the local church. Any relationship goes through times of change and development. At a baptism a child begins his or her Christian journey and there are other stages on this road such as confirmation and first communion. Parents and godparents have an immensely important part to play in all this because it is their task to give the child they have brought for baptism the opportunity of growing in faith, just as he or she will develop physically or emotionally.

In the service of Baptism parents and godparents are affirming their own Christian faith and promising that they will bring up a child within that faith and within the family of the Church. Understandably some people feel that commitment is not something they can undertake but they would still like to give thanks for this wonderful moment in their lives. The birth or adoption of a child is a cause for celebration, and this service provides an opportunity for parents and families to give thanks and to pray for their life together. This service does not involve the same solemn promises as a service of Baptism but includes special prayers for the child and for his or her parents. Just as a child is dependant on the food provided by others, so we all need to feed on the Word of God, and in this service the child is presented with a special Bible which will be a source of spiritual nourishment in their journey of faith.

Increasingly everyone is making their own individual journey of faith. Better relations between the different denominations mean it is not unusual for people to move from one church to another in their spiritual pilgrimage. Sometimes they feel that they have found their "home" in the Church of England and wish to be formally received into the Anglican family. This is done by the Bishop in a special part of the Confirmation Service. Others have found that although they have been baptised or confirmed at a young age their faith journey has involved time away from the Church family. It is not possible to be "rebaptised" or "reconfirmed" but it is possible to solemnly reaffirm your baptismal vows, and that too can be done with the Bishop at a Confirmation Service or in your local church with people you know.